AP On Rising Gas Prices: Not Obama's Fault
We get it, Associated Press. We get it!
Rising gasoline prices are NOT President Obama's fault. Or so you want us to believe. However, could you be just a little less blatant in pitching that line? As it is, your lack of subtlety in hammering home that message is embarrassing to read such as your latest example in which you mention that some people blame Obama along with a lot of other reasons but the only people you actually cite in the article on the subject of presidential responsibility are those who find him faultless in the price rise:
From all corners of the country, Americans are irritated these days by record-high fuel prices that have soared above $4 a gallon in some states and could top $5 by summer. And the cost is becoming a political issue just as the presidential campaign kicks into high gear.
Some blame President Barack Obama. Some just cite "the government," while others believe it's the work of big, greedy oil companies. No matter who is responsible, almost everyone seems to want the government to do something, even if people aren't sure what, exactly, it should or can do.
Yeah, some blame President Barack Obama but not anybody you cite in your article. The first person quoted is one Chris Kaufman who (surprise, surprise) does not blame Obama:
Chris Kaufman, who spends $120 a week on gas to travel the 60 miles between his two jobs, at the University of South Dakota in Sioux Falls and at a hotel in Vermillion, S.D., blames the price spike on threats from Iran to cut off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
"I think the candidates running for president need to take a good hard look at that and determine what their foreign policy is going to be for countries that threaten to do that," he said. "It's going to affect every single citizen in the United States."
Still, he believes the president has little control over gas prices, adding that it is commodities traders who really dictate prices.
The next person up at bat in the AP lineup agrees with the first guy that Obama is blameless:
Trucker Cory Nissen of Ruther Glen, Va., agrees.
"The president is nothing but a fall guy," Nissen said as he took a break from his rig at a stop in Wilton, N.Y., earlier this week.
Where oh where can someone be found that holds Obama accountable for the rising gasoline prices especially considering that he has thus far refused to grant approval for the northern end of the Keystone Pipeline that will deliver oil from the Alberta oil sands in Canada? Not in this AP story since they claim that the president (and Congress) are pretty much helpless bystanders:
In truth, there is not a lot the president and Congress can do in the short term to push down gasoline prices. They are tied to oil prices, which have climbed in recent months, pushed by increased consumption from developing nations in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and by concerns about supply disruptions in Iran and elsewhere.
All the president has done recently is shoot down any proposal to extend the Keystone pipeline to Canada. Therefore we must hold him eternally blameless as the next person AP cites who is grumbling about gas prices but still plans to vote for Obama:
In New York City, some cab drivers say the high cost of gas is prompting them to race through the streets of Manhattan even more recklessly than usual to pick up more passengers during a shift.
"When the gas is up, the money you make is going down," said Less Sylla, who paid $4.17 a gallon earlier this week. "You see a lot of drivers, they're driving, boom-boom-boom, because the lease is too high and it's working on their minds. So that's why they go like that, and it causes a lot of accidents."
Sylla, who said he will vote for Obama, blames greedy oil companies.
Had this cab driver blamed Obama, his viewpoint would have been conveniently cleansed from the article. The bonus here is that he supports Obama...which is the best way to be mentioned in an AP article.
Finally an AP encore with yet another who finds Obama faultless:
Milton Walker Jr., whose Louisiana tour company takes vacationers on boat rides through the alligator-infested swamps, said he raised prices last year because of the increased cost of fuel and will do it again if gas hits $5 a gallon. He blames the Federal Reserve, saying it hasn't kept inflation in check.
"I don't think it matters who's president," he said.
Gee, AP, is it really that difficult to find someone who would blame Obama for rising gasoline prices in your article?
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Comments
Polls
Submitted by fivestring_assassin on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 6:47pm.
suggest otherwise
AP stands for....
Submitted by bigdaddy on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 6:53pm.
...Administration Press...Aiding President...Always Progressive...Avoidance Philosophy...
Chuck Shumer advocates the
Submitted by robert108 on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 6:59pm.
Chuck Shumer advocates the Saudis increasing supply as an antidote to the high prices, but somehow obama, who has been restricting supply for three and half years, is not the cause of the price increase from $1.80/gal to over $4/gal during that time? Talk about your voodoo economics!
delete
Submitted by Rush Fan on Sun, 03/25/2012 - 4:21pm.
delete
Absolute Propaganda
Submitted by mattm on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 6:59pm.
Absolute Propaganda
Uhhhhh.....
Submitted by liberalsarefunny on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 7:14pm.
Then why was is Bush's fault?
Useful idiots!
Submitted by tvhall on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 7:22pm.
Obama shut down the Gulf of Mexico, refuses to let the Keystone pipe line cross the border to Canadian Oil and then claims credit for oil resources being recovered on private land while keeping the lid on drilling on public lands. Yes all of these might not lower energy prices right now (but usually just the threat of the US becomming more energy self sufficient makes the price come down from our foreign suppliers thus making the projects that would make us self sufficent less profitable and delaying those projects even further) but would in a few years (maybe sooner) bring down cost and lead to a larger export of oil and ultimately lower our international debt. Plus an oil boom in the US would contribute to all Americans being more prosperous ($2 gas frees up $2 per gallon that can be spent on other things thus employing more people and raising income as workers become a more scarse commidity). And yet the Obomorons cry high prices have nothing to do with the president - the same ones who said we are in the middle east to lock down their oil. F-ing shifting lie hypocrites!!!
The eco-freaks and this incompetent administration will kill our country faster than any pollition comming from oil.
and most importantly...cheaper energy leads to more US
Submitted by Paarl on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 8:13pm.
based manufacturing as we can already see happening because of cheaper Natural Gas generated electricity in the east and midwest....
paarl of Rhodesia
Rollover gallons
Submitted by CJohnson on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 7:23pm.
With so many unemployed and no one spending, and gas too high to drive, where does all the unused fuel go?
AP
Submitted by mmilesll on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 7:26pm.
AP which means appalling right. How do they stay in business, they have been wrong so many times.
Democrats Are Amazing!!
Submitted by Samaritan01 on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 7:40pm.
I remember when rising gas prices were blamed on the Republicans however the Democrats are so amazingly brilliant that they have found a way to avoid culpability in gas prices. We should really borrow their techniques, they are geniuses!
Gas Prices
Submitted by Jersey Girl on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 7:44pm.
So why is Schumer demanding Saudi Arabia pump more oil?
JG, As if,oil don't come out of the ground through one of these.
Submitted by upcountrywater on Sat, 03/24/2012 - 5:45pm.
Free the Pipes...
Shut down of a 7 billion dollar private project job gotta KILL some more jobs, as each and every day as time ticks by.
You Didn't Build That.
Same people who say the
Submitted by forest on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 8:04pm.
Same people who say the president can do nothing to stop higher prices will be the first ones to give Obama credit if the prices go down. That bogus "fast tracking" of the pipeline he has no say over looks good.
That'll totally be reason if prices drop.
Hooray Obama!
A complete reversal from when Bush was President
Submitted by DaMav on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 8:22pm.
The media was eager to give uncontradicted voice to every yahoo in the world blaming Bush for every penny of gasoline price increase. I certainly don't recall the AP and its propagnda allies rushing out all manner of articles frantically insisting the President had nothing at all to do with gas prices. AP has become little more than a Pravda for Obama.
I've heard lots of media
Submitted by big.league.slider on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 8:29pm.
I've heard lots of media talking heads saying that president Obama has no ability to affect gasoline prices, and that they are a commodity driven by global supply and demand. This notion is completely untrue and demonstrates a lack of understanding of how the market functions.
Wholesale and retail gasoline prices are based primarily on what the sellers think they need to charge to cover the cost of purchasing new supplies. And the future cost of their product is determined by how the market perceives future events will affect prices and supplies. For Obama to claim he has no power to affect gasoline prices is false. In fact, the one single person in the entire world that has more power to affect gasoline prices than anyone else is Obama himself. Statements and actions by world leaders like Obama can drive significant gasoline price changes overnight.
The DEfault is NO fault.
Submitted by GregE on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 9:04pm.
Nothing is his fault! Not one damn thing!
Credit? All his! Every ounce of it, for anything good!
It's like I'm living under a ruler, not served by a public servant. Maybe the middle name has symbolism beyond what is politically correct to speak of.
You speak TROOF,
Submitted by killa37 on Sat, 03/24/2012 - 2:15am.
You speak TROOF, Greg..............we have come to expect that if there is bad news - it's NOT Boy Baraka's fault..................but if there is good news, it is BECAUSE of Boy Baraka.
I still can't figure out how these StateRun Media/MSM types can look themselves in the mirror, much less sleep peacefully at night. I'd say the same thing about Baraka, but he IS a LIE, and thus, he believes in himself.
President No-Fault
Submitted by DontFeedTheTrolls on Sat, 03/24/2012 - 6:43am.
Yep, it aint his fault.
Along with record unemployment/underemployment, food stamp use sky high, tent cities increasing, credit downgrade, spending through the roof, mandated health care that is, ummmm, unhealthy, and all the other ills any other President would take some credit for.
Greg ---
Submitted by matthewdean on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 9:23pm.
shades of how the North Korean media addressed Kim Il Jung; and now the Jungster.
MD
Let's think forward a moment.
Submitted by GregE on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 10:36pm.
Imagine November, the day after the election if he wins. We know where he's headed and his minions will push it.
Now imagine for a moment if he loses. I said this many many times and I stand by it, though I obviously can never prove it, but you remember the massive hype in 2008, the worship, the cover, no vetting, etc etc. Had he lost, we would have seen massive riots. Not a single question in my mind about that. Imagine if he loses this time.
We're going to see street chaos soon no matter who wins what. That's coming. The Communists/Marxists/Socialists/entitlement crowd/etc/etc is being pushed, being convinced that all of their ills are because of rich people. We have a President that is one of THE most divisive in history, by design, smiling as he does it so as to fool people into thinking there's nothing sinister there. It's there, and it's destroying America.
Case in point reference 'victory' ---
Submitted by matthewdean on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 10:41pm.
How many times have we seen fools riot in the street, overturning and setting fire to vehicles, when the local sports team won a championship?
Too many.
And that's when these zombies were satisfied with how things went for the home team.
Craziness.
MD
Kind of OT, but I wanted to post this tonight.
Submitted by UpNorth on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 10:24pm.
Seems our media won't keep track of pResident Baracka, but some of the overseas media is catching on. If an open thread opens up tomorrow, I'll repost it.
A perfect example
Submitted by sngnsgt on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 10:27pm.
This is a perfect example of why the main stream media can't be trusted. Newspapers are going into extinction. Oprah's network is on it's way out. MSNBC, CNN, and the big three are a joke. We toothless, gun and bible totin' fly over country bumpkins vote. We know where to get the scoop. It ain't with martini sippin' college grads like you. Oh, if we were only as smart as youse guys. We'd be giving rich white girls rubbers. We'd put solar panels and windmills on our SUV's and algae in our tanks. Guess what boys and girls, we the unwashed will vote these clowns out of office just to watch you cry.
AP
Submitted by batcat on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 10:31pm.
What did you expect from the Absurd Press?
AP
Submitted by Curly on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 10:55pm.
AP = ALL PROPAGANDA They and all the lame stream are DISGRACEFUL!
So what keeps the federal government.......
Submitted by GregE on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 11:08pm.
.............from giving these away fully subsidized? NOTHING other than a decision by some idiot politician. If they can credit $7500, they can credit $30,000. Both are borrowed money, and both have zero Constitutional foundation.
The AP isn't leaving any room to doubt Obama Affiliations.
Submitted by Boil It Down on Fri, 03/23/2012 - 11:55pm.
It's gotten to the point that the AP may as well put Obama campaign logos on everything. In a growing number of their stories, they don't even make a pretence of the objectivity required of their profession.
How do you suppose the pay offs are handled?
It will be a huge loss for them if they don't succeed in getting Obama re-elected.
The reason it's not Obama's
Submitted by NCfairandbalanced on Sat, 03/24/2012 - 8:08am.
The reason it's not Obama's fault is that it is still Bush's fault. And it always will be. No matter what it is, not just this, but everything...it is Bush's fault.
Why not? The liberal press blamed him then for stupid reasons. Why not now, for stupid reasons? Because their followers are too smart for that anymore? They give their followers way too much credit!
Inflation
Submitted by bmacdmac on Sat, 03/24/2012 - 8:28am.
Plus the national debt. Both parties have spent like drunk sailors with the Democrats paying back Obama donors at the tune three trillion. Almost everything Obama does costs this country with no sign of any of that money being recovered.
Gas prices
Submitted by NewLife56 on Sat, 03/24/2012 - 8:57am.
In 226 days. we'll show him who we blame
Bring back
Submitted by bmacdmac on Sat, 03/24/2012 - 9:54am.
If that's true that Obama has no control then bring back Bush, we need someone in control!
of course not
Submitted by gr29az on Sat, 03/24/2012 - 10:07am.
of course not.
Repeat after me: It's not Obama's Fault!
Submitted by CobraMan on Sat, 03/24/2012 - 12:32pm.
Repeat after me: It's not Obama's fault! It's not Obama's fault! It's not Obama's fault!
Who's fault is it, you may ask? That's easy:
It's the fault of the speculators, who Obama has increased his regulatory powers over with expanded SEC control!
It's the fault of the Oil Companies, who Obama has increased his regulatory powers over with expanded drilling bans and governmental re-reviews of existing, as well as proposed, exploration, drilling, and construction permits.
It's the American Citizens, who Obama has increased his regulatory powers over with expanded EPA powers, the purchase of majority stock in automotive manufacturers, expanded energy mandates, expanded federal funding of "alternative energy" research and manufacturing.
It's everyone BUT Obama's fault, since he has increased his regulatory powers over them!
Hay, Obama, does your administration regulate the oil industry or not? If the answer is yes, and we know that it is, then guess who's going to receive the blame? That's right, the people who are in CONTROL! In other words: YOU! The ONLY way you can reasonably claim that you have no control over things like gas prices is if you didn't have any control over the industry in question.
The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States. The US Constitution
Unless you're a fetus. The US Supreme Court
Or Anwar al-Awlaki.
Left and press big source of Gas
Submitted by tvhall on Sat, 03/24/2012 - 9:04pm.
This is not supprising!
Recent articles by AP (Associated Progressives) one interviewing citizens about how much power the president had to effect gas prices (most of whom defended the president as if they were sleeping with him) and the second a Q&A piece on why gas prices were so high that never addressed the supply side of the equation. Funny that both of these articles were written so as to be asbestos shorts for Obama while only four years ago when rising gas prices were blamed on the Republicans (and Bush). Yet the press and left today are so amazingly brilliant that they have found a way to avoid culpability in gas prices. Yes, immediate action may have little effect on the price today, but the left has been saying that for five, ten, even thirty years that we can’t drill-explore-frack-refine our way out because any increase in supply or decrease in price will take five years to pay off so it’s not worth starting.
How is Obama culpable in this current price run up?
He:
1) shut down the Gulf of Mexico, 2) refuses to let the Keystone pipeline cross the border to Canadian Oil, 3) claims credit for oil resources being recovered on private land and 4) keeps the lid on drilling on public lands.
Yes all of these might not lower energy prices right now (but usually just the threat of the US projects making us more energy self sufficient makes the oil price come down from our foreign suppliers, causing those projects to be less profitable, delaying those projects even further) but would in a few years (maybe sooner – with real profit on the line those bohemothic oil companies and legions of smaller support companies would really move!) bring down costs and lead to a larger exports of oil and ultimately lower our international trade debt. Plus an oil boom in the US would contribute to all Americans being more prosperous ($2 gas frees up $2 per gallon that can be spent on other things thus employing more people and raising incomes as workers become a more scarce commodity). And yet the Obomorons cry high prices have nothing to do with the president - the same ones said we were in the Middle East to lock down their oil for the Oil Companies (No blood for Oil – Bush lied people died, they screamed ). Shiftless lying hypocrites!!!
How could our government give us some relief? 1) Approve Keystone, 2) Open up federal lands for drilling, 3) Re-open the Gulf, 4) Streamline regulation, 5) Lower taxes on the energy business from end to end, 5) End confiscatory per gallon taxes on fuel and 6) Tell the eco-crazies to go pound sand.
The same people who say the president can do nothing to stop higher prices will be the first ones to give Obama credit if the prices go down. You sheeple can have your own opinion (it’s a right) but please, please use a consistent model of logic besides – Obama - God and good, Republicans - Satan and bad.
It always your friends that
Submitted by DEEBEE on Sun, 03/25/2012 - 10:54am.
It always your friends that understand you the most. All AP is saying that a man used to voting present could not be held responsible for all that is happening.
Always Prevaricating
Submitted by Flashman on Sun, 03/25/2012 - 8:59pm.
Always Prevaricating